Mike Rutherford, star of Genesis and Mike + the Mechanics, has revealed that he recorded with Eddie Van Halen in the ’80s - but admits that the results of that collaboration may never be heard.
Speaking to My Planet Rocks, Rutherford recalled how his 1982 solo album Acting Very Strange was the catalyst.
"I think Eddie heard a song from my second solo album, which I sang – God knows how I thought of this! – and he rang me up and said, ‘Will you do some writing?’ I mean, my voice for God’s sake!”
The two guitarists arranged to meet in Los Angeles, where Van Halen lived and worked. But Rutherford was surprised when Van Halen scheduled their rendezvous.
“He says, ‘Hey Mike, come over about 1:30.’ And I thought, ‘Well, that’s going to work for me, a little lunch.’”
Van Halen then clarified: “a.m.”
“He starts at nighttime, and works through the night,” Rutherford recalled. “I just couldn’t really do that.”
They did get together eventually. “It was fun,” Rutherford said. “I mean, he was a great player.
“We had some sessions. We wrote some songs. Bits. I’m not quite sure…
But Rutherford admits that the results of these sessions may be lost.
“I can’t find the tape,” he said. “I’ve got two boxes of cassettes. I’m not sure I’m mad enough to go through them! Lots of cassettes.”
